According to the anonymous prank voice mail left by a friend (I know who you are), I am now a welcomed member of the AARP. As he so kindly offered, "We want you to know, we’re here for you."

How thoughtful.

Though the frequency (and slightly pink hue) of my hair coloring belies a much more, shall we say, advanced life stage, I am happy to report I’m nowhere near the AARP age requirement. Furthermore, I still eat dinner at the normal hour of 6 and do whatever I can to stay away from all-you-can-eat-for-$4.99 buffets.

Still, I AM a year older today. And it feels good.

Those of you who keep up with me on Facebook know I plan to get a tattoo (the skin kind, not the "Da plane!" variety) in honor of number 37. Actually, it really has nothing to do with my birthday–I’d probably do it anyway. Still, a birthday seems to afford the extra latitude for going a bit crazy.

I had no idea something so small would spark such discussion and feedback. I’ve heard everything from "No way!" and "Cool!" to "Is that allowed?" and "What do your parents think?" I’m approaching mid-life, people. It didn’t even occur to me to check with the folks first.

For all those who were wondering, here’s the scoop: the tattoo, if I do indeed decide to do go that route, will be one of my favorite verses of scripture. The purpose? To spark dialogue. My gut tells me a small Bible reference on my ankle will end up  being a catalyst for deeper discussions about spiritual things, and hold me accountable to authentically living it out. If that happens even once, isn’t it worth it?

As I’ve said before, when it comes to living with impact, you can’t do everything but you can do something. I am by nature very conservative. However, since joining the AARP isn’t (yet) an option, a tattoo might just be a little bit of something. I’ll keep you posted.

By the way, Today’s Christian Women recently did a short piece discussing whether or not Christian’s should sport body art. I read it just a few minutes ago and found it akin to where I’ve personally landed. You don’t have to agree, but you might want to check it out.

Regardless, today’s "Verse of the Day" in the margin seems a perfectly suited mantra for year 38.

One more thing…thanks for being part of my 37.

“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”   Matthew 5:14, 16